Friday Giveaway: Joe's Brooklyn Pizza $30 Gift Card

There's  usually a lag time between my visit to a pizzeria in my posting of a review. And I do have a backlog of reviews of pizzerias I have visited in the past few weeks.
But I wanted to get up a new post quickly after my visit yesterday to Joe's Brooklyn Pizzeria, because Joe was kind enough to donate a $30 gift card for me to get awayto a lucky follower of this blog. I haven't done a giveaway in quite some time, and I like to start them on Fridays, when readership is high. This is also a fantastic way to resume giveaways, because I consider Joe's to be one of the best pizzerias in this area, and because, I think, this is the highest dollar value of any gift card that I have ever given away.
I stopped at Joe's for lunch, and got two slices, although between the two of them they were probably equivalent to an entire pie. At least my stomach told me so, as I was full - happily full - for the rest of the day.

If I had to pick one single type of slice to eat for the rest of my life, I would probably pick a plain cheese slice, New York style. But I've had those, and reported about those, at Joe's. So I was looking for something different this day, and my eyes were drawn to two particular pies, from which I chose a slice each.
The first was a grandpa's slice (on the right in the photo), which is topped with tomato sauce, pepperoni, sausage, sweet peppers, extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, basil, and Romano. This is a pan risen, Sicilian style slice. I have been accused of being prejudiced against thick crust pizza, but in fact,I love a good thick crust pizza, and Joe's is one of the best around.
One problem I often have with thick crust pizza is that it tends to be oily underneath, but Joe's Sicilian pizzas are dry and crisp on the bottom, and the texture of the well-risen crust has just enough "chew" to make it interesting without being "tough."
The grandpa's pizza is loaded, but not overloaded, with toppings - enough to pack a wallop in the flavor department but not so much as to overwhelm the crust. My side slice was huge, and I probably could've stopped there and had a decent lunch.
But I also really wanted to try a stuffed pizza that they had available, which was topped with bacon, spinach, garlic and mozzarella. I'm not even a huge fan of bacon (I like it, I just don't love it as much as some people), but it looked great.
It was delicious but filling. Imagine two of Joe's thin crust pizzas, with toppings, one on top of the other, and you'll get a good idea of what this was like. But again, it was well balanced, with plenty of flavor from the toppings, but with the excellent, crisp/charred crust taking center stage. And the combination of toppings was very good - the meat, spinach and garlic complemented each other very well.
That was more than enough for lunch, but Joe wanted me to try his latest creation, which is a white pizza topped with black garlic. I had never heard of black garlic, but Joe's food supplier introduced him to it. Apparently it's a Korean thing (Koreans seem to be big on fermented foods, kimchi being the prime example) in which garlic is left to ferment for several weeks, which not only turns a black, but which gives it a sweet flavor reminiscent of balsamic vinegar.
As of now, black garlic is only available on slices at Joe's. Depending on consumer reaction, it may be added as a topping option for entire pies. But it's expensive, so it remains to be seen if enough people will order it to justify adding it as a regular menu item. If you like garlic, though, or just like trying new things, look for it among the slices next time you're at Joe's.
Okay, so here's what you've all been waiting for. Joe not only let me try his new black garlic pizza, he also donated a $30 gift card, for me to give away to one lucky reader. Most of you probably know the routine by now, but here's how it works. If you would like a chance to win, leave a comment following this blog post, along with some identifying information. I will choose a winner at random next Friday, in the early afternoon. I will then mail the card to the winner.
If you are the winner, I will need some way of verifying your personal information, and making sure that I get the card to the correct person. So in your response, I either need some contact information, such as an e-mail address, or I need you to e-mail me at rochesternypizzaguy@gmail.com, with your name and postal mailing address. It would be great if, in your comment, you could include some comment about Joe's pizzeria, or about pizza in general, or about this blog, but that's not a requirement to win. Leave as many comments as you like, but multiple comments will not increase your chances of winning.
I love traditional, Rochester style pizza, and I certainly wouldn't want to see it displaced by the kind of pizza sold at Joe's, which is more indigenous to New York City than to here. That said, I still think Joe's is one of the best pizzerias in our area. And $30 worth of Joe's food (they do wings too) is, I think, enough to make any pizza lover very happy. So comment away, and look for the winner next Friday. I'll be announcing the winner on my Facebook page, and on Twitter as well.
Joe's Brooklyn Pizza, 1100 Jefferson Rd. Suite 23B, Henrietta, NY 14623
Mon. & Tue. 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Wed. - Sat. 11 a.m. - 10 p.m., Sun. noon - 8 p.m.